UEFA Super Cup: The 4 Greatest Finals in the Competition’s History

?2019’s edition of the UEFA Super Cup is fast approaching and for the first time ever, it will be between two English clubs, Champions League winners Liverpool and Europa League winners Chelsea.

The UEFA Super Cup is a more storied competition than you might think, existing in some form since 1973. Initially over two legs, the competition has undergone minor changes since its inception, such as changing the game from taking place at the Stade Louis II in Monaco to various smaller stadiums across Europe.

Here is a list of the four greatest UEFA Super Cup finals.

Real Madrid 3-2 Sevilla (aet)

For a while, it seemed that Sevilla and ?Real Madrid were the only teams picking up European trophies. In fact, three out of the last five UEFA Super Cup finals have featured Sevilla or Real Madrid, with the two ?La Liga sides even facing one another on two occasions.

Their last encounter was back in 2016 when Los Blancos beat the Andalusians 3-2 after extra time. It was a tense match. A youthful ?Marco Asensio opened Real’s account after 21 minutes before Sevilla’s Franco Vazquez equalised four minutes from the end of half-time.

?Sergio Ramos did what he does worst and gave away a penalty late in the second-half, with Sevilla’s Yevhen Konoplyanka converting. Ramos made up for this mistake with a last-minute equaliser to give Real a fighting chance.

Late into extra time, it seemed likely that the match would go the penalties, but Dani Carvajal scored the winner in the 119th minute. He bombed down the wing, glided past the Sevilla defence before striking the ball into the far corner to secure the victory for Real.

Paris Saint-Germain 2-9 Juventus (on aggregate)

Taking place back when the final was over two legs, ?Juventus thrashed Paris Saint-Germain in both the ‘home’ and away legs in the 1996 edition of the UEFA Super Cup.

The ‘home’ leg, played on the other side of the country in Palermo because *attendances were higher there than Turin*, Juventus put three more past Les Parisiens, including an Alessandro Del Piero brace and a last-minute Christian Vieri strike.

Oh yeah, and Paris Saint-Germain’s two consolation goals? Both penalties scored by Rai. It just goes to see that even with a ton of money, Paris Saint-Germain’s European fortunes haven’t changed all that much.

Real Madrid 1-2 Galatasaray (aet)

Raul, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Iker Casillas were just some of the superstars in the Real Madrid starting line-up for the 2000 final, in what should have been an easy match for Los Blancos.

It was Raul who had the best chance of the match in the 16th minute; a low cross from Roberto Carlos met the foot of the Spaniard, who one on one with the goalkeeper, blazed the ball way over the bar.

Galatasaray took the lead in the 41st-minute courtesy of a Mario Jardel penalty, conceded by Bolton Wanderers legend Ivan Campo before Real Madrid got their equaliser late in the second half thanks to a Raul penalty.

It was Aslanlar who prevailed, however, with the prolific Mario Jardel getting the golden goal eight minutes into extra time, securing Galatasaray a shock victory.

Barcelona 5-4 Sevilla (aet)

?Barcelona equalled ?AC Milan’s record of five UEFA Super Cup wins after seeing off Sevilla in a close match that saw nine goals.

Ever Banega scored a free-kick for Sevilla after just three minutes, before Lionel Messi himself scored a free-kick for the Blaugrana four minutes later, and again 12 minutes after that to put Barcelona into the lead.

Rafinha and ?Suarez added Barca’s third and fourth to put the game seemingly out of sight, but Jose Antonio Reyes scored for Sevilla in the 57th minute to give Los Rojiblancos a way back into the game.

Barcelona’s Jeremy Mathieu conceded a penalty in the 72nd minute, which Kevin Gameiro duly converted before Yevhen Konoplyanka equalised for Sevilla just before full-time.

Barcelona secured the victory 15 minutes into extra-time after Pedro capitalised on a rebound after a Messi miss.